Watching

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

Soon's Haven is rather lively. All these people crowding around...it doesn't suit you Shukun.

Shashu peered around the second-story outcropping, frowning as she watched the eddies and whorls of the milling crowd flow around her beloved. She'd been following Ayumu for some time, as was her wont. There was truly nothing better for her to do now that Saito had put off her report til they all returned to Kumo, and her Shukun was by far the most interesting besides. Just a short while ago he'd come out of a bar in search of his miserable excuse for a replacement, and was now tracking him via the glasses the fool had no doubt dropped in a drunken stupor. She was looking forward to his reaction when he found the wretch, but...these crowds...

I don't like it at all. The spires and steady streets back home fit you far better.

It was frustrating. Frustrating, because even though she should be the only one to walk so close to him she could only watch from afar. All these people who wanted to get close to him, but she was the only one who knew him well. They didn't know the beast that lay beneath. None of these people could hope to come close to that, not in a lifetime. And yet...

Her mind ticked back a beat. She reminded herself there was at least one other person who could take in such a monster. Kahako...where Shashu knew she could revel alongside that madness within, Kahako could simply...send it away. It was a shame really. So few had a beast like that in them, and to push it aside...

It's a good thing I love her too Shukun, or...well, let's not worry about that.

Fortunately for her, the trail was leading Ayumu well away from all the would-be gawkers and into less-traveled sections of the bazaar. It was beginning to look like Kouin had simply gotten drunk and gone home with some woman...until an explosion rocked the area. Adrenaline flooded her system and an eager grin spread across her face as Ayumu put out an all-points summon to any ANBU in the area, and not just on account of the impending action. In a place like this, with so few people around, the odds of there being other Cloud shinobi nearby was low. Even if others heard they would not arrive in time. No...this was her chance to show off, to force Ayumu to see her. She was tired of simply watching.

[MFT]

 

[Sand Council]

Ichi​

The stalked was also being stalked. There was something primal about the hunt and something primitive within the brain of a predator that whispers... no screams out that there is another stalking his prey. He never went far from those glasses and it was much to his elation when a second Sennin stumbled onto the breadcrumb trail he had left to find the first. The seeker was supposed to be a random, likely casual adventurer foolish enough but also skilled enough to scry the location of the owner of those glasses. He hoped for a subordinate or even better a foreign do-gooder that would come upon the Sennin in whatever state Shi left him in, all he knew was the screaming persisted to near dawn. She loved her work even if she never stopped complaining about it, of course he loved his job as well.

So, he came upon a curious thing. A stalker among the crowd that followed the errant Sennin to the affluent heart of the village. He was perched on the ledge of a building above when an explosion rocked him. A bit earlier than planned, his mind whispered. He did not fret of course as he released his grip on the roof's edge and bounded over twenty foot gap between the buildings to the large structure adjacent with a cat-like grace. He was making no attempt to hide his presence, not when there were crowds enough to distract one from his murderous visage. He was a large man, close to seven feet in height, his shadow would herald his approach if the woman was too enamored by the man she pursued. He would reach out and try to grab her wrist before she responded to the cull of her beloved's peril. His grip if his hands did in fact grip onto her slender wrist would be tight as if a constrictor had her limb in their grasp as he insistently pulled her back.

"There are laws against voyeurism in this part of the word Madam," he sneered revealing a set of yellowed and crooked teeth. His limbs covered in bandages down to the last digit. His icy blue eyes the only proof that there might be a man beneath those wrappings. "You should leave the Sennin to his own devices my dear... widow," his eyes set on the image of a spider on her back. "Interesting... did you know that the term spider and cloud are one in the same, it is how it is said that changes the meaning."

If she had broke away from his grip or was never within it in the first place, it mattered little to him as he either whispered in her ear or called out to her. "Submit,"<i></i> his words had power. The word repeated if the previous failed to take effect. It was all in how they were said that his power was derived. Similar to tree binding, she would find herself entwined in an invisible web much like the one a spider would weave. "No need to run off, it is not like I am some sort of villain now lass," he would proclaim if she was caught in his illusionary web that was a mere fabrication of her own mind as he reached out to lift her chin. "You see... I just want to make friends, for I am a lonesome and hideous beast perhaps not unlike yourself."

"Time folds onto itself,"<i></i> he proclaimed, casting another technique with his word alone similar to the Mental Kombat technique utilized by illusionist shinobis. He would repeat it again if it failed to take effect. If again effective the word would appear unchanged and he would ask without releasing her from the tree even in this secondary illusion, "So tell me little spider before you skitter away... why are you walking so far behind Kumogakure's most beloved Sennin? Watching him from afar..."

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

Something was off. Her skin crawled with the feel of some stranger's eyes upon her, the telltale sign that she had been found out. Not by some ignorant citizen who had spied her out with a passing glance, no. This was the deliberate and focused gaze of one who knew what they were looking for. Like recognized like after all; no being knew better what it meant to hunt than the hunter itself. Still, to have noticed her presence was rare indeed. She'd been slacking.

Her first instinct was to assume that the bearer of that gaze was after Ayumu. She was, by her own admission, no one special. No matter how great her individual skills were, in the grand scheme of things the one called Shashu fell rather low on the totem pole. There was no particular reason she should be sought out, but her Shukun...he was a worthy mark. If such was the case then it would be best to deal with this unknown quantity before moving on. As much as she would like to simply rush ahead, trapping herself and Ayumu between two unknown enemies would be an inexcusable, and potentially lethal, lapse in judgement. It would be best to simply bait the watcher into attacking her, then deal with it herself.

She reached for her throat mic, and was rewarded with a whisper on the wind as the presence made its move. She allowed herself a small smirk that quickly turned to mild surprise as the shadow loomed behind her, snatching her wrist with an iron grip. Of course, she'd never intended to make the call. But if she had...

Damn he's fast. She wondered, taking in the man's appearance. If it was a man under all the yellowed teeth and wrapping. Then he pulled her closer and spoke, clearing all doubt on that front.

"You say there are laws but..." she dispersed her arm into shadow, reforming it outside his grasp and tucking it under the other with her hips slightly cocked. "If I'm a voyeur, what does that make you mister watcher? You've some nerve calling me out when your pot's just as black."

She inspected her nails briefly, then sighed. "Depends on the language I suppose. Listen; this is all rather riveting, but I've better things to do than highlight the interesting bits of various languages. If you'll excuse me..."

She turned to leave. It was all an act of course: she wanted to convince him she was unaware of the danger he posed. Or to irritate the man, either would serve really. She intended to goad him into making the first move, trick him into revealing his motives. Even if he didn't buy it, he'd be forced to act in some fashion if she tried to leave.

She'd had no idea that his response would be one irrevocably damning word.

"Submit," he commanded, and her body obeyed. She froze in place facing away from the source of that terrible voice, a rasping gasp clawing its way out her throat as the command echoed within her skull. She'd known this would happen. Ever since the awakening in the ruins of Kiri she'd known that one day someone, or something, was going to call out, and the monster inside her would answer. She'd set up mental barriers, conditioned herself, but it meant nothing. The sound of that one word refused to go silent, reverberating through the confines of her mind until it reached a crescendo that tore her meager defenses to pieces. In an instant it had wormed its way deeper, coiling around that beast within and bringing it to heel. It was like her own instincts were purring as they wrapped her in a web of her own devising.

No no no NO! Fayth, curse and damn it all! ...FUCK! Her conscious mind struggled against the formless bind, but it was no use. Just as one cannot move their hand simply by thinking about it, she could not make her body respond with conscious thought. The body is the subconscious incarnate, the vessel by which primal desire becomes physical action, or so she'd read in one of the Fayth texts. The passage dangled in front of her mind's eye like a taunt while the man made a quip about her not needing to run off. He lifted her chin, the action sending a quiver through her body as he said he just wanted to make friends...with another monster like herself.

The bandaged man spoke again, words of power rippling through her. Though there was no outward change to the world around her, she knew what had happened. Whoever this man was, whatever he was, he was good. The illusion was seamless, offering zero transition between reality and waking dream. Ironically, although this technique was arguably more powerful than the first, it was easier to break with a discerning mind. She let it be though. Better to leave that card in her sleeve, and take advantage of the dilated time to find a way out of the mess she had gotten herself into. Something to think on while she played along with the man's questions.

"To be fair, we both know that if I could have run by now I would have. Or at least taken a swing at you." She replied evenly, all trace of the former act left by the wayside. There was little point in maintaining it now. "As for why I was...following him, what does it matter to you? If you must know, I just wanted to be there when he found that snot Kouin drunk in a ditch somewhere. It would have been most entertaining, I'm sure."

She hated it. Yes, she knew what she was doing was stalking by any definition. She certainly wasn't stupid enough to pretend it wasn't. Still, she was fine with that but...when this man said it, even by allusion, it sounded so...dirty. Ugly. Like it was something to be ashamed of. She struggled some more, but the monster inside of her showed no intentions of moving. So what? She loved him, that was that. What business was it of anyone else's if she chose to express it from afar?

 

[Sand Council]

Ichi​

"You say there are laws but..." she poofed away and stoof just our of reach. "If I'm a voyeur, what does that make you mister watcher? You've some nerve calling me out when your pot's just as black."

The bandaged man simply sneered, "I am hurt..." He raised a hand to his chest to sooth his 'aching' heart. "You realize words can hurt," the sarcasm that dripped from his lips was palatable. It was fun to toy with people, so stuck in their ways and bound to social mores. Prisoners more than those chained to a wall because at least they realize that they are limited. The spider was an interesting part of her identity - the homonym vocalized but the subliminal message soon to come he tossed the curious little spider a piece of trivia. To him, the hunt was only a small portion of the game.

"Depends on the language I suppose. Listen; this is all rather riveting, but I've better things to do than highlight the interesting bits of various languages. If you'll excuse me..."

He commanded her to 'submit.' His words had an uncanny authority, the kind that you could feel in your bones and the back of your head. That invisible hand that pulls at your hair and steals your breath. She would stop as he knew she would, although if it was necessary he would have asked twice just as nicely. There was no need to run off, it was not like he was some sort of villain, or so he lied. She was lovely in her own way, his bandaged fingers lifted her chin and he shifted the angle of her jaw. He was never quite so lovely and now he was a man riddled with scars, some so deep it was merely a piece of flesh stretched over bone. She would hear his carpals crack as he called himself a lonesome and hideous beast not unlike her.

The world would fade away, it would still be the world that she knew but it would be wrong. Her mind was able to hold onto that small fragment of sanity as his illusions crept into her most private sentiments. So tell me little spider before you skitter away... why are you walking so far behind Kumogakure's most beloved Sennin? Watching him from afar... Some say it was curiosity that killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

"To be fair, we both know that if I could have run by now I would have. Or at least taken a swing at you. As for why I was...following him, what does it matter to you? If you must know, I just wanted to be there when he found that snot Kouin drunk in a ditch somewhere. It would have been most entertaining, I'm sure."

"That Sennin will be found soon enough," he commented cryptically. Shi should be almost done disgracing that unfortunate boy. He always had a way with men. "But I doubt you care for such a degenerate pervert as him," Ichi consoled as he paced behind her, his bandaged digits never leaving her face. "Him, on the other, the other Sennin..." he gently turned her head to face her previous target as he did said this "he seems rather... special." He pressed against her back, she would be able to feel his stale warm breath as he spoke to her. He would guide her gaze to Saito preparing to do battle with a petite woman, her beloved "Shukun" was it? Was walking into a fray. This would only be an illusion, an illusion that mimicked reality. From the ground all people would see is a woman and a man standing side by side, he leaned over to speak a sweet nothing in her ear.

If she broke free of his illusion of a world within a world the hand that cradled her chin would clasp over her mouth and his other would wrap around her tightly as to pin her arms to her side. In the real world he would never let her scream, but if the illusion sustained he would let her cry out all she wanted to him. To warn him. To request aid. He would not care in this case of course and let her scream her fill this false world.

“Will you walk into my parlor?” said the Spider to the Fly,'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy; The way into my parlour is up a winding stair, And I've a many curious things to show when you are there. "Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “to ask me is in vain, For who goes up your winding stair can never come down again.” He would whisper to her regardless of the venue, be it real or be it false. Similar to The Devil's Whisper he was instilling his own little spider into her brain. An allegorical tale of her beckoning call and the fly's refusal. Said the cunning spider to the fly, "Dear friend, what shall I do, To prove the warm affection I've always felt for you? You're witty and you're wise, How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes! I have a little looking-glass upon my parlor shelf, If you'll step in one moment dear, you shall behold yourself. The spider turned him round about, and went into his den, For well he knew the silly fly would soon be back again: So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly, And set his table ready to dine upon the fly. With buzzing wings the fly hung aloft, then near and nearer drew, thinking only of his brilliance he came through - the POOR FOOLISH THING! At last up jumped the cunning spider, and fiercely held him fast. The spider dragged the fly up her winding stair, into his dismal den, Within her little parlor; but he ne'er came out again!<i></i>

The Spider And The Fly - The Rolling Stones​

He would let the poem linger in her head. She did not need to be alone, she could call on the fly. She could catch the fly. She could make the fly hers and ne'er would anyone see him again.

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

Ah, so that's what happened to Kouin then, she thought to herself. It was typical of the worthless Sennin to get caught like this. The bandaged man was right: she really didn't care for him at all. In fact, seeing as how he was the ultimate cause of the current situation, she was actively wishing he would up and die. But...what did he call him? A degenerate pervert? That seemed a little out of place.

Fingers trailed across her face as he walked around her, reminding her of her real focus. Ayumu was the one she was here for. The only reason she was even humouring this strange man was to make sure her Shukun was safe from him. Or that's what she told herself, at any rate. While her mind wandered freely, searching for an escape, her body had no intentions of leaving. It responded well to the man's will, allowing him to turn her gaze without complaint. He mentioned Ayumu now, his body pressed close against her back as he remarked that he seemed special. And he was. To the world, certainly, without a doubt. He was a Sennin of Kumogakure, and a fine one at that. He was no small player. But to her...he was more than merely special.

The bandaged man's musty breath played across her neck as he directed her vision towards a sight she certainly hadn't seen mere moments before. She could see Saito ready to battle against a woman close to her own size at a well-to-do manor. More importantly, her Shukun was heading to join him. Clearly it was an illusion, but illusion or no it was obvious that Ayumu was walking into a trap. She'd seen enough. She bent her mind to the task of breaking the illusory world, walking herself through the pathways of her psyche that would let her regain her grip on what was truth.

The moment she shattered the false reality bandage wrapped limbs tightened around her in a death-grip. Those fingers that had caressed her face a moment ago now sealed her mouth shut, while his free arm pinned both of hers to her sides. That was easily solved; she let chakra flow through the altered coils at her sides, regrowing her arms in an instant. He was strong and fast, but he couldn't control all six of her arms at once. The spidery ANBU bent her free arms back to pry his apart...only to feel the strength fading from them as he began whispering far more insidious words in her ears.

“'Will you walk into my parlor?' said the Spider to the Fly,'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy; The way into my parlour is up a winding stair, And I've a many curious things to show when you are there.'"

It was a simple poem, an ode to the cunning spider and her foolish prey, set to the cadence of a children's song. She was confident that she'd never heard this particular tune before, and yet...it seemed somehow familiar.

"'Dear friend, what shall I do, To prove the warm affection I've always felt for you?'"

Ah...I see. This poem, the spider...it's me. That makes...so much...sense....

She could feel herself slipping. The slow rhythm was like a tide that never receded, wave after wave that sapped her strength and gently pulled her under. She was ever so tired of fighting against all of it, and yet...under all the whispers the man poured in her ear she could feel that thing deep inside stir at long last. It rose at his words and spoke also to her, in ideas without form. In ideas that had slept deep within, down where she could convince herself they didn't exist.
[col]

Why am I fighting?​

|Why am I here?[/col]

Do I not desire this, deep down?​

[col]

Haven't I wanted him to see me?​

|Haven't I wanted to show off too?[/col]

Why is it that I'm the only one holding back?​

[col]

Why does everyone else get to be around him?​

|Why does everyone else get to be happy?[/col]

Why am I the only one alone?​

The man kept whispering his tale of the spider and the fly, dredging up ever deeper emotions with each verse. Somewhere along the way mist had begun pooling from her mouth, spilling between the man's fingers and down her her body to mix with the shadows that danced unnaturally beneath her feet. Even through the fugue she could feel herself changing again. Each time that thing, that monster, within her woke up she changed in some way. What would she become this time? She was dimly aware of crackles and pops as chitinous plates formed themselves on her body, further mimicking the spiders she so resembled, while between them leaked a haze of shadows lined here and there with trails of mist.

It's not fair.
Why doesn't he see me?
It's not fair.
Can't he see how much I love him?
It's not fair.
What does he need all those other people for?
It's not fair.
I'll make him see.
It's not fair.
I'll show him that I'm all he needs.
It's not fair.
...​

And if he doesn't see?​

"'At last up jumped the cunning spider, and fiercely held him fast. The spider dragged the fly up her winding stair, into his dismal den, Within her little parlor; but he ne'er came out again!'"</GLOW><i></i>

Her eyes snapped into focus. Everything felt so much clearer now, the path ahead so obvious now that she had woken up.

<GLOW glow="#800080">If he doesn't see, I will take him. He will be mine, and I will make him see!​

At long last she was awake. She felt filled with purpose, every ounce of her body and mind in accord as she banished the mercurial restraints set on her. No one would hold her back from this anymore; not this strange man, and least of all herself. She flexed her arms, newly formed chitin digging hard into desiccated flesh.

"I suppose I have you to thank for this. I'm grateful, but be warned. If you think to hold me back now, I will see how much of you I can break before I change your mind."

[MFT]

 

[Sand Council]

Ichi​

She struggled briefly as she revealed a quartet of arms that somehow hid beneath that skin-tight outfit giving her a sextet - sexy. "I am not even going to guess where you keep those," he quipped as he maintained his grip about her midsection "I usually save the weird stuff for the second date." His hold would become painfully tight as he told the tale of the spider and the fly into her ear. It was a powerful genjutsu, but the tale seemed to hold a number of parallels for the arachnid. Using the power of the word alone he whispered the tale into her ear. Something was changing within her as he spoke; something that was physically manifest. His fingers parted ever so slightly as mist left her maw in a streak of cloud. The grating shift of an exoskeleton could be felt beneath his long fingers and he started to loosen his grip.

If he doesn't see, I will take him. He will be mine, and I will make him see!​

She announced as she finally overwhelmed his genjutsu with her own will which was in cadence with his own, making it entirely copacetic. A low guffaw escaped his parched lips as she made a scene stories above the city floor. she was more a monster than a woman this would certainly become a tale of the beauty and the beast, with the Sennin being the delicate damsel. She was more like a cursed monster than a kunoichi in this form, making her much more interesting. Some scars fade and leave nothing but the faintest mark, a tea stain on watered silk. Then there are events and men that are so malevolent that, upon defeat they explode in a fiery burst of sulfurous flame, burning everything they touch as they die while others dissolve like morning mist in the brightness of the midday sun. Yet those are men and armies, not ideals. Ichi was a man of the word and he worked with ideas and ideas cannot be defeated at all, rather they feed upon the energy spent trying to vanquish it, growing more and more potent with each failed attempt. He was skilled at reading people and his word always had a hint of truth and a nudging towards the corruption that lingered in their victim's own heart. Sadly still, terrible impressions like the ones he spoke had deceptively simple antidotes that shatter his efforts like jagged shards of a vast mirror. She only needed a moment of bliss in the midst of sin to no longer be that lonesome, mewling outcast. She could take what she needed. What she wanted if she only had the will to try. Ichi had nothing to lose in this exchange, if she succeeded and fulfilled her passion Kumogakure would be down another graceful Sennin. If she failed, Kumogakure would be down a single shinobi and the Sennin would have some 'splaing to do.

"I suppose I have you to thank for this. I'm grateful, but be warned. If you think to hold me back now, I will see how much of you I can break before I change your mind."​

He had already let her go but her warmth lingered. He grinned as she made her way to the ledge. He curled his ring, index and middle over, leaving only his thumb and pinkie finger extended as he brought his posed hand to his ear. He winked as he said "call me." He had no intent of stopping her, he already had his fun but this would likely not be the last time they met. He backed away, exposing his back to her with his wrists clasped behind him. He was not worried about little things like an attack, after all all he would have to do is command her to stand down. He would see her again, after all he saved the weird stuff for the second date.

[Allowing her to Leave Topic, Attempting to Also Leave Topic]​